DECEMBER, 2004 NEWSLETTER

November 28, 2004--Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and officially kicked off the holiday season. I hope you all shared some quality time with friends, family and loved ones. For some, the next few weeks can be the most stressful time of year as we all try to juggle the responsibilities of our jobs, meetings, appointments and, yes, all those other little things we need to do to prepare for another holiday season--baking, wrapping, decorating and shopping. Yikes! Balancing everything seems to be getting more and more difficult. Within the workplace, many professionals are beginning to recognize that the stresses outside the job have a real impact on work performance and "quality of life" while at work. An international movement designed to boost employer-provided work+life support is gaining momentum in New Mexico. Local employers, including UNM and Sandia National Laboratories, provide programs such as flex-time to reduce stress and allow more time for family and non-work pursuits. Studies show implementing a work+life strategy leads to a more motivated and loyal workforce, increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.

Join Albuquerque Press Women for a panel discussion, "Work+Life: Employers Weigh-in on the Balancing Act," Monday, Dec. 13, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Uptown, Menaul and Louisiana NE. Panelists include: Susan Carkeek, associate vice president/director of Human Resources, UNM; B.J. Jones, director of Human Resources, Sandia labs; and Terri Cole, Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

We hope that you have our regular luncheon time marked on your calendars and will join us for this luncheon. For reservations, please contact Janet Ford by Dec. 9, at 720-7821 or E-Mail. The member cost is $15, nonmembers $21. Members' guests receive the $15 rate the first time they attend. You may select a vegetarian meal. Remember, your reservation is our commitment to reserve your lunch--and your commitment to pay.

MEMBERSHIP DUES
If you're not already a member of Albuquerque Press Women, this is your last chance to take advantage of the APW membership special: Members who join now, get the month of December as a bonus with payment of their 2005 dues. For those of you renewing your membership, I'll remind you that APW has decided to make the membership year due in January from here forward. What this means is that your membership fee will be due in January so you don't have to remember what part of the year you joined in order to keep your membership current. We hope this will make things easier on you as well as us.

The price breakdown is as follows, if you are a member of National Federation of Press Women, New Mexico Press Women and Albuquerque Press Women, your APW member price is only $10. If you would only like to join at the local level, your APW is $35. We're also offering a discounted student price of $6, if the student is a member of all three organizations, or $20 for APW alone.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
If ever you have any ideas that might help us better serve you, let us know. We're always open to suggestions and want to provide the best networking and resources for communications professionals.

December , 2004 E-GRAM (close window)